Web materials are a ubiquitous part of daily life. Materials such as papers, plastic films, and metals may be processed by winding the material into a large roll having a roll core and subsequently unwinding the material from the large roll as a step in a process to convert the material into a finished product.
As the rolls of material are wound, a roll may be wound to a particular size and then the winding of the roll is stopped. The finished roll may be removed, an empty core provided and the winding of a subsequent roll begun.
During the unwinding of the material, a roll may be unwound until the useable portion of the roll is removed. The roll remnant may be removed, a subsequent roll installed and then unwound.
The exchange of a finished roll for a new roll core, or of a roll remnant for a fresh roll, may cause a stoppage of the web handling process. This stoppage may reduce the overall productivity of the process. Time spent by personnel and equipment making this exchange, is time taken away from other tasks. It is desirable to exchange the rolls as quickly and efficiently as possible. Quick and efficient exchanges may increase productivity by reducing the duration of process stoppages and also by reducing the time spent on the exchanges thereby freeing equipment and personnel for other tasks.